Home Office

Overseas Students: Deportation

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many students who have had leave to remain curtailed or extension of leave to remain refused who held a cancelled ETS English language certificate have been detained and subsequently removed from the UK in each year since May 2010.

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many students who hold a cancelled English language test certificate have (a) had leave to remain curtailed or extension of leave to remain refused and (b) been removed from the UK in each year since May 2010.

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of students who have had their leave curtailed or extension of their leave refused where there was a cancelled ETS English language certificate who have left the UK under the normal Removals and Voluntary Departures scheme in each year since May 2010.

James Brokenshire: Data on the operational response to the abuse of Secure English Language Testing supplied by ETS is published quarterly in the Home Office Transparency data which can be accessed at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/temporary-and-permanent-migration-data-may-2015 .The most recent figures are published to the end of Quarter 1 2015 and include the number of individuals who have had leave curtailed or an application refused, those who have been removed from the United Kingdom and those who had at some time been detained. In addition to these figures a significant number of individuals will have chosen to leave the UK of their own volition without Home Office assistance.The Home Office has not been notified of cancelled English language test certificates issued by other providers since 2010 on anything approaching the scale of ETS. Moreover it is in theory possible that an individual student may have had leave to remain curtailed or extension of leave to remain refused for reasons unrelated to their English language proficiency but might subsequently also have had a test certificate issued by a provider other than ETS cancelled. For these reasons, aside from ETS, the Home Office does not hold aggregated figures for students who have had leave curtailed or been refused leave to remain since May 2010 and who have had at any time an English language test certificate issued by a provider other than ETS withdrawn

Abortion: Harassment

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the level of protection provided by harassment laws afforded to women who are harassed when visiting abortion clinics.

Mike Penning: I refer the Rt. Hon Member to the answer I gave to 5385 on the 13 July 2015.

Police: Drugs

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 7 July 2015 to Question 5856, what the additional costs attached to the enforcement of the new legislation are expected to be.

Mike Penning: The Impact Assessment to the Psychoactive Substances Bill gives estimated costs of enforcement on the criminal justice system. Existing resources are already being used by the police and trading standards officers to tackle the supply of new psychoactive substances using legislation not specifically designed for this purpose.The Impact Assessment anticipates that, once the Bill is enacted, very few establishments will continue to sell psychoactive substances, so the total enforcement costs are expected to be minimal. This follows the experience of Ireland which enacted a similar bill.

Offences against Children: Females

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2015 to Question 3680, if she will ask the National Crime Agency to estimate the number of women who pose a potential risk of being a child abuser or of seeking out child sex images online.

Karen Bradley: As described in the Crime and Courts Act 2013 , the National Crime Agency (NCA) is responsible for a criminal intelligence function that includes analysing and disseminating information relevant to combating serious and organised crime.It is for them to decide what information is included in assessments of the threat from serious and organised crime.

Crimes of Violence: Females

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to meet the recommendations set out in the UK report by the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women.

Karen Bradley: The United Kingdom has some of the strongest protections in the world to safeguard women and girls. The Government is committed to further supporting women to rebuild their lives, to breaking cycles of abuse and bringing perpetrators to justice.We will continue to update our Violence Against Women and Girls strategy, as we have done every year, and will consider the Special Rapporteur's findings.

DNA: Databases

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2015 to Question 3770, if she will take steps to ensure that the DNA profiles of prisoners who have been imprisoned since before DNA profiles were taken on arrest are on the DNA database.

Mike Penning: Work was done in 1997 and 2003 to take DNA from prisoners who were imprisoned before DNA samples were routinely taken on arrest.If the police follow standard practice consistently, then subsequent prisoners’ DNA profiles are on the database because they were taken on arrest. So it is not necessary to take prisoners’ DNA now.

Overseas Students: English Language

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 29 June 2015 to Question 3767, if she will name the 94 privately-operated further education colleges whose licences were suspended at the same point in quarter one of 2015 over English language testing irregularities; and for which such colleges the licence (a) was surrendered, (b) was revoked, (c) was reinstated and (d) remains suspended.

James Brokenshire: Following my response of 29 June 2015 to Question 3767, the latest published Transparency Data showed that since our operational response to the ETS English language testing fraud began we had suspended, at one time or another, 94 private colleges from the Tier 4 sponsor register by the end of Quarter 1 calendar year 2015. Please find below a list of those 94 colleges marked with their current status on the Tier 4 register as at 14 July 2015.1 Alpha College Revoked2 Alpha Meridian College Revoked3 APS Computer Solutions Ltd Trading As Pitman Training Centre Peterborough Revoked4 Birmingham Institute of Education Training and Technology Revoked5 Blake Hall College Revoked6 Bradford Metropolitan College (JR) Revoked7 Bristol College Of Accountancy Revoked8 Central College London (a division of Huawen Institute) Revoked9 Central College of Studies (CCS) Revoked10 Central Cranbrook College Revoked11 Citizen 2000 Education Institute Revoked12 City of London Academy Revoked13 College of Advanced Studies Revoked14 College of East London Revoked15 College of Excellence Limited Revoked16 Cranford College Revoked17 Essex College Ltd Revoked18 Eynsford College Revoked19 Forbes Graduate School Revoked20 Hammersmith Management College Revoked21 Helios International College Revoked22 IIM BEDFORD Revoked23 Interlink College of Technology & Bus. Studies Revoked24 Katherine & King's College of London Revoked25 Kinnaird College Revoked26 LIT_LON LTD Revoked27 London Corporate College Revoked28 London Educators Limited Revoked29 London Premier College Limited Revoked30 London Regal College Revoked31 London School of Advanced Studies Revoked32 London School of Marketing t/a LS Business School Revoked33 London School of Technology Revoked34 London St Andrew's College Revoked35 Manchester College Of Management Sciences Limited Revoked36 Manchester International College Revoked37 Manchester Trinity College Limited Revoked38 Midlands Academy of Business & Technology Revoked39 North West College Reading Revoked40 Queensbury College Revoked41 Shakespeare College Revoked42 South London College Revoked43 Stanfords College UK Limited Revoked44 Superior College London Revoked45 UK Business Academy Revoked46 UK Vocational Training College, T/A UK College of Arts and Technology. Revoked47 West George College Revoked48 West London Business College Ltd Revoked49 London College of Finance and Accounting Revoked50 14 Stars (London) Ltd Trading As European College for Higher Education Revoked51 360 GSP College Revoked52 A2Z English Language School Revoked53 Aldgate College Revoked54 Apex College Revoked55 Birmingham Informatics College Ltd Revoked56 Bradford Regional College Revoked57 CAHRO Academy Ltd Revoked58 City College Nottingham Revoked59 Docklands Academy Revoked60 Docklands College Revoked61 East End Computing and Business College Revoked62 Essex College of Management and IT Ltd Revoked63 Futures College (DN3YXJQK0) Revoked64 London College of Advanced Management Revoked65 London College of Business Limited Revoked66 London College of Business Management and Information Technology Revoked67 London Metropolitan College Revoked68 Middlesex College of Law Ltd Revoked69 Modern Manchester Academy Revoked70 Newcastle Academy of Business and Technology Revoked71 Opal College Revoked72 Pharez UK Ltd Trading As Pharez College Revoked73 Radcliffe College Revoked74 Sanjari International College Revoked75 The City College Revoked76 UK Business College Revoked77 Unipro College London Revoked78 Vernon Community College Revoked79 Futures College Ltd Revoked80 Sharp Development Solutions Ltd Trading As SDS College London Revoked81 Bradford College of Management Surrendered82 Britain College of Studies Surrendered83 London Academy of Management & Business (LAMB) Surrendered84 London College of Business Management and Computing Studies Surrendered85 Empress College Surrendered86 London Churchill College Surrendered87 London Empire Academy Surrendered88 University Tutorial College Surrendered89 Bloomsbury International UK Ltd Reinstated90 Finance & Business Training Ltd Reinstated91 London School of Business and Finance Reinstated92 Studio Cambridge Reinstated93 London School of Business and Accountancy Reinstated94 Oxford College of London Suspended

National Asset Management Agency: Northern Ireland

Tom Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions have taken place between her Department and relevant authorities in the Republic of Ireland on co-operation with the National Crime Agency's investigation into allegations made in the Irish Parliament on the sale of properties in Northern Ireland owned by the National Asset Management Agency.

Karen Bradley: Home Office Ministers undertake visits and have regular meetings with Ministerial colleagues and others as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings or visits.Following a request from PSNI, the National Crime Agency has confirmed that it has agreed to lead the investigation, with support from PSNI as required, into the sale of Northern Ireland assets owned by the Republic of Ireland's National Assets Management Agency.

Immigrants: English Language

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many prosecutions have taken place as a result of English language test fraud in the last five years; and with what offences those prosecuted were charged with having committed.

James Brokenshire: It is clear that organised criminality lies at the heart of the abuse of the ETS English Language Test fraud. We are working to identify, pursue, prosecute and convict those involved in this large scale organised fraud.On the 3 July 2015 at Manchester Crown Court, Arsalan Ashraf was jailed for 10 months for acting as a fake sitter at two Manchester colleges – the Innovative Learning Centre and Manchester College of Accountancy & Management. Mr. Ashraf is the first person to be sentenced since the abuse was uncovered in 2014 for assisting unlawful immigration.A number of other live investigations are ongoing across the UK and as such we cannot comment further at this time.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Iran: Nuclear Power

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, by what mechanism his Department plans to announce the outcome of nuclear negotiations with Iran.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made on 15 July by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond)

Capital Punishment

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if the Government plans to revise its Strategy for Abolition of the Death Penalty 2010-15.

Mr David Lidington: There was significant progress towards global abolition of the Death Penalty between 2011 and 2015. In 2014, only 22 countries executed people; while 140 countries were abolitionist in law or practice. The UK used targeted diplomacy and financial support for international non-governmental organisations, Parliamentarians and human rights lawyers in our efforts to persuade other governments to abolish the Death Penalty. Work continues under this strategy, and we would like to see the long term trend towards abolition continue throughout this Parliament.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Judicial Review

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he plans to take in response to the High Court ruling in the judicial review case against the Government brought by UK Music and others.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Judge has invited both parties to make submissions on what consequences should flow from the judgment and will issue a further ruling in due course. As legal proceedings are ongoing, the Government is unable to offer further comment at this time.

Science: Midlothian

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he plans to take to maintain excellence in scientific research and development in the Midlothian constituency.

Joseph Johnson: The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) supports the Roslin Institute and is committed to its future through Institute Strategic Programme Grants and Core Funding. The current funding plan involves support of £8.02m in financial year 15/16 and £8.04m in financial year 16/17. BBSRC also supports the Easter Bush Campus and made an investment for major capital works of £2.75m in financial year 12/13, which contributed towards the development of an avian research facility. Further to this, the BBSRC has invested £5m alongside the Scottish Government and Edinburgh University in order to develop a new innovation hub on the campus. This builds on BBSRC’s previous significant capital investment which enabled the Roslin Institute to move into new purpose built buildings in June 2011. The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) Higgs Centre for Innovation, currently under construction at the UKATC, is a £12.7 million investment in a state-of-the-art facility. It will house business incubation facilities, employing 30-40 people in high-tech, start-up companies and providing direct links with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Harwell Campus. Institutions in Midlothian and across Scotland are eligible to apply for grants from all seven of the UK Research Councils, which are awarded to support excellent research driven by both researcher curiosity (responsive mode grants) and strategic priorities (managed mode grants).

Science: Midlothian

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many jobs in Midlothian constituency are supported by science funding from his Department.

Joseph Johnson: As at 1 July 2015, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) fund 96 people on current awards as principal investigator or co-investigator. Records indicate that they work in a department within the Midlothian constituency. There are 79 people employed at the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) site at the UK Astronomy Technology Centre (UKATC) in Edinburgh. There are other jobs in universities and businesses indirectly supported by science funding from Research Councils and Innovate UK.

Science: Scotland

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many jobs in Scotland are supported by science funding from his Department.

Joseph Johnson: The number of Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC) jobs in Scotland directly supported by science funding from the Department of Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) is 823. The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) currently supports 583 people as principal investigator or co-investigator in academic departments within Scotland. The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) currently employs 287 people and the Medical Research Council employs 13 staff in hearing research and regulatory support across Scotland. BIS science funding administered by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) also positively impacts on HEIs and the wider economy in Scotland, but the number of posts is not immediately quantifiable due to the nature of how certain grants are funded. Institutions across Scotland are eligible to apply for grants from all seven of the UK Research Councils, which are awarded to support excellent research driven by both researcher curiosity (responsive mode grants) and strategic priorities (managed mode grants). It is however important to note that the impact of science funding extends far beyond those directly funded from Research Council grants. For example, much of the research done by the academics, researchers and technicians noted above will be carried out in partnership with private industry, charities or other public organisations and consequently will indirectly support jobs in those organisations through increased innovation, competitiveness and efficiency.

Students: Grants

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment the Government has made of the effect on student numbers of ending maintenance grants.

Joseph Johnson: The Government’s reforms aim to ensure the higher education system remains affordable given the need to repair the public finances, by asking those students who will benefit most from studying to meet more of their costs. At the same time, they will also increase the total financial resources available to students from the poorest households. The growth in student numbers since 2012, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds, suggests that in general students are not deterred from entering higher education when asked to bear more of the cost of their study where this can be met through greater access to loan finance.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills: Billing

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion  of invoices from suppliers his Department paid within 10 days of receipt in (a) March 2014, (b) April 2014, (c) September 2014 and (d) September 2013.

Anna Soubry: The proportion of invoices from suppliers paid within 10 days of receipt by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills were as follows:   a) March 2014 - 98.73% b) April 2014 - 98.57% c) September 2014 - 98.33% d) September 2013 - 99.14%

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills: Billing

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2015 to Question 3264, how many businesses were not paid within 10 days of each month; what the value was of those invoices (a) in total, (b) on average and (c) as a proportion of the total value of all invoices.

Anna Soubry: Please note that an anomaly has been identified in the data originally given to Question 3264 and the correct data is given below for both March and April 2015. We are unable to provide the number of separate businesses not paid within 10 days of each calendar month but have provided the number of invoices in this regard. Core BIS - March 2015:Percentage under 10 calendar days – 97.84%Number of invoices not paid within 10 calendar days – 182Total value of invoices paid over 10 calendar days - £2,375,600.19Average value of invoice paid over 10 calendar days - £13,052.75Proportion of the total value of all invoices paid over 10 calendar days – 0.108%  Core BIS - April 2015:Percentage under 10 calendar days – 98.26%Number of invoice not paid within 10 calendar days – 131Total value of invoices paid over 10 calendar days - £2,963,175.51Average value of invoice paid over 10 calendar days - £22,619.66Proportion of the total value of all invoices paid over 10 calendar days - 0.042%

Infrastructure: Research

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, by what date he plans for the Collaboration for Research in Infrastructure and Cities hub to be operational; and what funds have been provided from the public purse to establish that hub.

Joseph Johnson: As outlined in the March 2015 Budget, £138 million of public funding has been allocated to the UK Collaboratorium for Research in Infrastructure and Cities (UKCRIC) – subject to business case approval. The funding for UKCRIC, as well as the operational date of the Co-ordination Node (hub), is to be determined as part of the business case.

Virtual Reality Headsets

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if his Department will take steps to  ensure that children under 13 are aware of producers' of virtual reality headsets recommendations that such children do not use these headsets.

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if his Department will take steps to ensure that users of virtual reality headsets are aware of the producers' recommendations that some users should see a doctor before using such a headset.

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if his Department will take steps to ensure that users of virtual reality headsets are aware of producers' recommendations on the length of use of such headsets and the length of breaks before their re-use.

Anna Soubry: All consumer products including virtual reality headsets are covered by the General Product Safety Regulations 2005. The regulations impose requirements concerning the safety of products ensuring that only safe products are placed on the market. With respect to virtual reality headsets we would therefore expect the manual accompanying the product to give clear advice and carry appropriate warnings, including age appropriateness of the user etc. (and we believe this is generally the case). I therefore do not feel the need to take extra steps to raise awareness but will keep the situation under review.

Telecommunications

Ian C. Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on the reform of the Electronic Communication.

Mr Edward Vaizey: I and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport have regular discussions on a wide range of issues.

Department for Education

Religion: Education

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which qualifications in religious education her Department has approved for teaching in publically-funded schools.

Nick Gibb: A list of the religious education qualifications approved in accordance with section 96 of the Learning and Skills Act 2000 for delivery in publicly-funded schools is attached to this response. The full list of approved qualifications is published online on the section 96 website: www.education.gov.uk/section96/download.shtml 



6289 List of Qualifications and awarding orgs
(Word Document, 29.85 KB)

Children: Reading

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of meeting the aims of Save the Children's Read on. Get on. campaign.

Nick Gibb: The government is committed to eliminating illiteracy so that all children are equipped to succeed in education, and in life. We welcome the ‘Read On. Get On.’ campaign and its goal to get all children reading well by 2025.   We have placed phonics at the heart of the early teaching of reading, and this is reflected in the reformed national curriculum. A large body of research evidence shows that systematic phonics is the most effective method for teaching literacy for all children. The proportion of 6-year-olds achieving the expected standards in the phonics screening check has risen from 58% to 74% between 2012 and 2014. That is equivalent to 102,000 more children on track to become confident readers. We recently announced funding for eight school-led phonics partnerships in which schools will work together to improve further the quality of phonics teaching.   In relation to early years, we have introduced ‘early years teachers’ and put in place robust standards for level 3 (A Level standard) Early Years Educator qualifications. We have allocated over £50 million for the early years pupil premium and provided an additional £10 million to voluntary organisations and schools. We know many are using the funding for literacy, communication and language development.

Primary Education: Greater London

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children in (a) Lewisham, Deptford constituency, (b) the London Borough of Lewisham and (c) Greater London leave primary education with (i) reading, (ii) writing and (iii) mathematics graded at Level (A) 1, (B) 2, (C) 3, (D) 4, (E) 5 and (F) 6.

Nick Gibb: The numbers of pupils attaining levels 1 to 6 in the reading test, writing teacher assessment and mathematics test at key stage 2 for Lewisham, Deptford constituency [1], the London Borough of Lewisham, and Greater London [2] in 2013/14 [3] are shown in the tables below: Reading test [4]Level 1Level 2Level 3Level 4Level 5Level 6Lewisham, Deptford Constituency--46396586SuppLewisham local authority--1281,0611,4395Greater London--4,39732,50142,345201   Writing teacher assessmentLevel 1Level 2Level 3Level 4Level 5Level 6Lewisham, Deptford ConstituencySupp158950342950Lewisham local authority9512141,4051,034128Greater London4141,6477,50542,87427,5672,421 Mathematics test [5]Level 1Level 2Level 3Level 4Level 5Level 6Lewisham, Deptford Constituency-474470377107Lewisham LA-91871,192949314Greater London-2456,33234,79328,42710,422 Source: Primary school performance tablesNote:The data has been suppressed if the number of pupils who entered or passed the qualification was three or fewer, denoted by “Supp”.[1] Based on the location of the school[2] Includes Inner London and Outer London[3] Based on revised data[4] Only 3,4,5 and 6 can be achieved in the KS2 reading test[5] Only levels 2,3,4,5 and 6 can be achieved in the KS2 mathematics test.

Department for Education: Ministerial Policy Advisers

Stuart Blair Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the name, responsibilities and pay band are of each special adviser in her Department.

Nick Gibb: I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Parliamentary Question 5983 given by the Minister for Cabinet Office, my Rt Hon. Friend the member for West Suffolk (Matthew Hancock MP) on 13 July 2015.

Philosophy: Primary Education

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the findings of the study funded by the Education Endowment Foundation into the effect on primary schools pupils' ability in mathematics and literacy of weekly philosophy classes.

Nick Gibb: We support the work of the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) in helping schools to use more evidence-based approaches and to put what works into practice. Research from the EEF has already revealed much about how schools can spend their budgets, and particularly their pupil premium allocations, more strategically to improve outcomes for pupils. There is evidence that Philosophy for Children had a positive impact on key stage 2 attainment in reading and mathematics. We trust individual headteachers to develop a school curriculum that will best help their pupils succeed, drawing on the best evidence available.

Ministry of Justice

Information Commissioner: Pay

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department is responsible for signing-off pay levels at the Information Commissioner's Office; and whether his Department objected to payments made to senior executives in 2014.

Dominic Raab: The Information Commissioner is responsible for determining the pay and conditions of his staff and in doing so must comply with the principles of Managing Public Money and Civil Service Pay Guidance. The Information Commissioner has sought and has received the appropriate approvals from the Ministry of Justice and The Treasury.

Prisoners' Release: Homicide

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 1 July 2015 to Question 3642, how many people were placed on life licence for murder in each year since 2007.

Andrew Selous: The number of offenders serving a mandatory life sentence for murder who have been released on life licence by the independent Parole Board in each year since 2007 are published in the Offender Management Statistics Annual Releases Tables. Table A3.3 at the link below shows the number released from mandatory life sentences from 2002 to 2014. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/424903/prison-releases-annual-2014.xlsx Any offender released from a mandatory life sentence for murder will be subject to a licence for the rest of his or her life. The life licence may be revoked and the offender returned to prison, should it be deemed appropriate, in response to an increase in risk posed to the public.

Ministry of Defence

Chad: Military Aircraft

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the lessons learnt were from the deployment of the RAF in Chad in 2014.

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether UK military personnel have been deployed in Chad since October 2014.

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many aircraft were deployed in Chad in 2014.

Penny Mordaunt: Three Tornado GR4 aircraft were deployed to Chad, from late August to mid October 2014 as part of the international effort to locate and retrieve the abducted Chibok schoolgirls in North East Nigeria. Up to ninety-one UK military personnel were in Chad supporting the Tornado aircraft, and those personnel had all returned to the UK by 17 October.We learned a range of lessons from the Tornado GR4 deployment in Chad in 2014, not least in terms of the challenges associated with deploying fast jet aircraft to a new and austere location.Since October, four UK military personnel have deployed to Chad in support of French counter-extremist activity in the region.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Crops: Pests

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the trends in numbers of cabbage stem flea beetle in the UK since December 2013.

George Eustice: Defra has not undertaken any assessment of the trends in numbers of cabbage stem flea beetle in the UK. However, we are aware that the AHDB published an assessment on this area in 2014.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Local Government: Devolution

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the contribution by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in his Department on 9 June 2015, Official Report, column 79WH, whether his Department has had discussions with local authorities on devolution amounting to something less than the Manchester model which would not require a metro mayor.

James Wharton: The Government has had discussions about devolution and improved local governance with a number of local areas. This includes Sheffield City Region, Liverpool City Region, Leeds, West Yorkshire and its partner authorities, and Cornwall, as set out in the Budget. Negotiations with these and other areas, including over governance structures, are ongoing. The Government will not force a particular model of governance on any part of the country. However, the Government has been clear that, for metro areas, it will only consider devolving major powers to those that adopt a directly elected, executive mayor for the full metropolitan area. For other parts of the country, The Government is open to considering proposals for strong and accountable local governance in return for devolved powers.

Mayors

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential effects on regional identity and character of adopting a metro mayor model.

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the cost to local authorities of adopting the metro mayor model.

Mr Mark Francois: If any bespoke devolution deal, which an area agrees with Government, includes, because the area has so chosen, a metro mayor, the costs and benefits of that deal will be part of the conversations the Government and the area will have.

Affordable Housing: Construction

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure that major property developers provide affordable housing in urban areas.

Brandon Lewis: National planning policy requires local planning authorities to identify and plan for the market and affordable housing needs in their area. Each Local Plan is examined to ensure that it has robust policies on affordable housing, which may be criteria-based or through specific site allocations. It is then for each local authority to determine, based on the requirement in the Local Plan and the specific viability of individual proposals, the appropriate level of affordable housing for each site on a case-by-case basis.  We will ensure 275,000 new affordable homes are provided between 2015 and 2020. This means we will build more new affordable homes than during any equivalent period in the last twenty years. The Government’s 2011- 2015 Affordable Homes Programme exceeded expectations, delivering nearly 186,000 affordable homes since April 2011, 16,000 more than originally planned.

HM Treasury

Living Wage

Philip Davies: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his Budget Statement of 8 July 2015, Official Report, column 338, what estimate he has made of how many of the 60,000 jobs which the Office for Budget Responsibility estimates will be lost as a result of the introduction of the National Living Wage are based in each (a) sector and (b) region.

Damian Hinds: The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast 1.1million new jobs will be created over the forecast period. This includes their estimate of the impact of the new living wage. This forecast is not broken down by region. The OBR also estimate the cost to businesses will only be 1 per cent, whilst Budget also announced a cut corporation tax to 18% and an increase in the Employment Allowance.

Tobacco: Taxation

Paul Flynn: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 1.213 of the Summer Budget 2015, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health on the decision not to introduce a levy on tobacco manufacturers; and what steps he took to assess the potential effects of that decision on public health.

Damian Hinds: Treasury Ministers discuss a variety of issues with Ministers from other government departments throughout the year, including the run up to Budget.

Welfare Tax Credits

Keir Starmer: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of changes to tax credits on the poorest families.

Keir Starmer: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how his Department will monitor the effect of the changes to tax credits on the poorest (a) in-work and (b) out-of-work families.

Damian Hinds: The Government is making changes to Child Tax Credit and Universal Credit which will help put welfare spending on a more sustainable path. The Government wants to move from a low wage, high tax, high welfare society to a higher wage, lower tax, lower welfare society. That means more emphasis on support to hardworking families on low incomes by reducing income tax through increases in the personal allowance and increasing wages, than on topping up low wages through tax credits.   Families with someone working currently on the minimum wage will benefit from the introduction of the National Living Wage from April 2016 which will be set at £7.20 per hour. The Government’s ambition is for the National Living Wage to reach over £9 by 2020. This would equate to a cash rise of £5,200 a year by 2020 for those who are currently working full time on the National Minimum Wage.   These changes will ensure that work will always pay more than a life on benefits, support will be focused more on those on the very lowest incomes and the system will be fairer upon those who pay for it, as well as those who benefit from it. Taking the welfare changes in the Budget together with the record increases in the income tax personal allowance and the introduction of the new National Living Wage, 8 out of 10 working households will be better off by 2017/18.

Tobacco: Taxation

Luciana Berger: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he expects to publish the responses to the consultation on the tobacco levy.

Luciana Berger: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 1.213 of the Summer Budget 2015, if he will publish the analysis by HM Revenue and Customs that showed that a tobacco levy of £150 million would raise £25 million.

Damian Hinds: As set out in paragraph 1.213 of the Summer Budget Report, the responses to the consultation on introducing a tobacco levy will be published shortly.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Environment Protection: Finance

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what direct funding her Department has allocated for projects which deliver low-carbon development in (a) the present financial year and (b) each further financial year until 2020-21.

Andrea Leadsom: Support for low carbon development is provided mainly through the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) and the Levy Control Framework (LCF).The RHI budget for 2015-16 is £430m. Budgets for future years are the subject of the Spending Review.Details of the LCF forecast for each year to 2020-21 can be found in table 2.7 of the Fiscal Supplementary Tables, which are located at the following link: http://budgetresponsibility.org.uk/economic-fiscal-outlook-july-2015/

Department for Energy and Climate Change: Ministerial Policy Advisers

Stuart Blair Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the name, responsibilities and pay band are of each special adviser in her Department.

Andrea Leadsom: The Department has not undertaken a comparative assessment between energy consumption reductions attributable to smart meters and those attributable to future energy efficiency developments other than smart meters. Energy efficiency measures are generally complementary and decisions on each policy are taken based on their own merits taking into account the impact of other policies.

Energy: Conservation

Mr David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent comparative assessment she has made of (a) her Department's forecast reductions in household gas and electricity consumption attributable to the smart meters programme and (b) reductions which will be attributable to future general improvements in the energy efficiency of dwellings and household appliances and the development of energy-saving technology.

Andrea Leadsom: Holding answer received on 14 July 2015



The Department has not undertaken a comparative assessment between energy consumption reductions attributable to smart meters and those attributable to future energy efficiency developments other than smart meters. Energy efficiency measures are generally complementary and decisions on each policy are taken based on their own merits taking into account the impact of other policies.

Cabinet Office

Ministerial Policy Advisers

Stuart Blair Donaldson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the name, responsibilities and pay band are of each special adviser in (a) his Department and (b) the Prime Minister's Office.

Matthew Hancock: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Leicester South on 13 July 2015 to UIN 5983

Public Sector: Procurement

Dr   Poulter: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, in what ways his Department is supporting the mediation of a standardised pre-qualification questionnaire to help businesses access public sector contracts.

Matthew Hancock: The Public Contracts Regulations, which came into force in February of this year, mandate a standardised approach to Pre-Qualification Questionnaires (PQQs) across the public sector.Cabinet Office has issued guidance on qualitative selection for procurement above EU threshold. This guidance, and a standard PQQ template, can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-contracts-regulations-2015-requirements-on-pre-qualification-questionnaires

Telecommunications

Ian C. Lucas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on reform of the Electronic Communications Code.

Matthew Hancock: In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of ministerial discussions are not normally disclosed.

Iraq Committee of Inquiry

Roger Mullin: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the (a) costs and (b) fees incurred have been of the Chilcot Inquiry in each year to date since the setting up of that inquiry.

Matthew Hancock: An itemised year-by-year breakdown of the Inquiry’s costs can be found on the Inquiry’s website. (www.iraqinquiry.org.uk)

Department for Culture Media and Sport

Sports and Tourism

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will publish tourism and sports strategies by 21 July 2015.

Tracey Crouch: The sport strategy will be published later this year and we will inform the House in the normal course of business.  The Prime Minister has today launched a five point plan on tourism to spread the benefits of one of our fastest growing sectors beyond the capital. A new inter ministerial group will be formed to coordinate and align action to boost tourism across Government. Copies of the five point plan are available in the House library.

Department of Health

Diabetes: Health Services

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made on NHS England's National Diabetes Prevention Programme to tackle Type 2 diabetes.

Jane Ellison: The NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme is making good progress following its public launch and announcement of demonstrator sites in March 2015.   Our demonstrator sites are working to help develop the programme and deliver prevention interventions to those individuals who are at high risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

Food: Sugar

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to encourage that the food and beverage manufacturing sector to reduce sugar content in the food and drink they produce.

Jane Ellison: Calorie reduction, including sugar reduction, will be part of the Government’s work on obesity. We have asked for expert advice about the amount of sugar we should be eating and this will be taken into account as we continue to work on our childhood obesity strategy.

Women and Equalities

Ethnic Groups: Birmingham

Liam Byrne: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will make an assessment of levels of representation from the Black and Minority Ethnic community in the governance of local spending bodies in Birmingham.

Caroline Dinenage: The Minister for Women and Equalities has no plans for an assessment. It would be for those responsible for those local spending bodies to decide whether such an assessment would be necessary.